Elke Schüßler was invited to hold a workshop on the implementation of corporate due diligence in the textile sector as part of the 5th Future Forum "Globalisierung gerecht gestalten" (Making Globalization Righteous) on 21 and 22 February 2019 in Berlin.

The Future Forum with the theme "For Sustainable Supply Chains: Separate Responsibilities - Shared Responsibility" (Für nachhaltige Lieferketten: Getrennte Verantwortlichkeiten - gemeinsame Verantwortung) was organized under the leadership of Development Minister Dr. Gerd Mueller from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development.

The event gathered high-ranking representatives from government, business, and civil society, including key-notes by Dr. Gerd Mueller (Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development), Hubertus Heil (Minister for Labor and Social Affairs) and Dr. Baerbel Kofler (Human Rights Commissioner of the Federal Government).

During several workshops on issues such as approaches to corporate due diligence in the textile sector, smart governance mixes for social, environmental, and human rights standards in cocoa and conflict mineral supply chains or lessons learned from the French Loi de Vigilance, participants discussed what effective governance approaches – including both public and private regulation – could look like.

The workshop organized by Elke Schüßler on "Different approaches to the implementation of corprorate due diligence in the textile sector: A smart mix" started off with a panel discussion on governance initiatives in textile supply chains. Panelists were Nanda Bergstein (Director for Corporate Responsibility at Tchibo), Dr. Sabine Ferenschild (Researcher at SÜDWIND e.V.), Norbert Jungmichel (Consultant at Systain Consulting), and Arne Lietz (Member of the European Parliament). The discussion revolved around emerging governance trends, such as collective and union-inclusive initiatives, suitable approaches to promote living wages in the garment industry, as well as firm and government responsibilities for labor standards in the garment industry. Within group discussions the workshop then continued to develop policy recommendations for the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development.

The overall event concluded with a final panel discussion, bringing the insights from the parallel workshops together.

Photos: BMZ